Miah Nickerson, Garret Hartman, Lyndon Engleking
Title:
Fanaticism and Societal Decay
How could a political power struggle temporarily rip society apart?
Grade: 9th-10th
Overall Goal: In groups of 2-3, students will be researching how the ideology of Mao Zedong was
able to be so persuasive as to enthrall millions of people, mainly young people, into disrupting
Chinese social order, and why this caused Chinese society to fall into chaos for a time.
In general, students are concerned about how Mao’s rhetoric functioned to persuade the public,
and the subsequent upheaval. They should also be concerned with the situation Chinese people
were in prior to the revolution which made them susceptible to his ideologies. Students can
apply this to their own lives by recognizing how political rhetoric, and rhetoric in general, affects
the climate in their communities and country. Because of this, we believe students will be highly
engaged in this topic.
To begin the lesson, we will begin by playing a short video (linked below), and that will be
followed by in-depth class discussion. Students will come away from that video with a curiosity
for the different factors that contributed to the Cultural Revolution, and some significant events
and people. They will also gain a better understanding of what constitutes the events changes
that characterized the Cultural Revolution.
Over the course of the lesson, students will have to research and explore multiple areas of the
Cultural Revolution in terms of why the people were susceptible to the rapid changes, how the
public pushed the changes forward, and what factors led them to latch onto the movement.
By the end of the lesson, there are many different important people that could be focused on for
their role in the Cultural Revolution. For example, some students may focus on the people in
Zedong’s close circle. Other students may focus on the political leaders Zedong was trying to
throw out of power. Others might focus on important players that came back to the Chinese
political field due to the Cultural Revolution a few years before Zedong’s death. Students will
have to make a case for how these individuals impacted the revolution, what role they played in
mobilizing the public, and how they used rhetoric to do so.
For the final “interview” product, students will stage a fictional interview with an important
Cultural Revolution figure as a video product, but they will also have to make sure that interview
maintains historical accuracy and portrays the perspective of their specific historical figure.
Standards Learning Objective Assessment
WH.6.9 Trace the rise of (1) Students will be able to trace In research groups,
communism in China including the uprising of the read/watch all
its foundations, the Cultural Communist party and its provided research
Revolution, and modern day ideals. materials, and turn in
developments. (2) The students will be able to written notes (See
identify the actions of Mao rubric below)
Zedong and how they
advanced the Cultural
Revolution.
(3) The student will be able to In research groups,
research and brainstorm different students will do an
theories as to how Mao’s rhetoric audio recording of
could have persuaded the Chinese their brainstorming
people to follow him, using primary session, as well as
and secondary reference materials present a written
from a variety of reliable sources. document of their
Students will be able to defend their central arguments
ideas using facts. and supporting facts.
(See rubric below)
(4) The student will be able to record Video Interview (see
and present a well-reasoned, and rubric)
well-supported mock interview with
a political figure from the Cultural
Revolution. Students must include
questions and answers between the
interviewer and interviewee that
express their group’s arguments and
support.
Key Terms & Definitions:
● Mao Zedong: Mao was a political activist, military leader, and ruler of China.
● Nationalism: Nationalism is patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts.
● Communism: Communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class
war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person
works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
● The Northern Expedition: The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the
National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang, also known as the Nationalists, against
the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926.
● The Shanghai massacre: Occurring on 12 April 1927, also called the April 12 Incident, it was
the violent suppression of Communist Party of China organizations in Shanghai by the
military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang
● Elitist: Elitist means relating to or supporting the view that a society or system should be
led by an elite.
● Bourgeois: Bourgeois is having qualities of or characteristic of the middle class, typically
with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.
● Chinese Red Army: The Red Army was the army for the Communist party in China.
Lesson Introduction (Hook or Grabber):
The instructor begins by introducing a youtube video regarding an ordinary Chinese citizen and
how the Cultural Revolution disrupted his family and his own life. The overall consensus of the
video is to add a layer of emotion and reality to an event that seems distant and in the past to
students.
The instructor will introduce the video by giving a brief description of the Cultural Revolution and
some numbers and facts about how it damaged Chinese society. This description and video
should get their attention because:
1. The video is an interview of an adult man who played a role in the Revolution when he was
barely a teenager and how he lost his mother due to political fanaticism.
2. The emotional appeal of the video will stir the students and show them that the Revolution was
a very real, very serious event in recent world history that greatly affected the lives of many.
This is a very effective way to introduce the topic because it starts with a shocking historical
event that students might not understand well based on their background as free, US students.
The students then will be focused on discussing the video.
Once we watch the video, the instructor should ask the following discussion questions:
1. What did you think of the video?
2. How does this video make you react and feel, and why?
3. If you were a student in Communist China during the Cultural Revolution, what would you
do? Would you follow the crowd or remain loyal to your family?
Video Link: [Link]
Lesson Main :
Introduce the Central Question: During the Cultural Revolution, China's young people
gravitated towards Zedong's philosophies fanatically and began disrupting Chinese society
according to his values. What about ZeDong's propositions for a new Chinese social order could
have been so persuasive as to incite millions of followers to aid his cause? How could a political
power struggle, Chinese elites in this case, cause society to fall into chaos for a few years?
(Historically this is something we see often and across many places and cultures.)
Brief Content Lecture: Once we have discussed the main question regarding the Cultural
Revolution, the instructor should provide a brief overview of the content and the activity as a
whole (see created resources below). The instructor will go through these slides, asking the
central questions, and making sure the students have a general understanding of how the rest of
the lesson will proceed and what the culmination of lesson will require.
Research in Groups: At this point, the instructor should break the students into groups of 2-3 to
begin researching. Each student should actively participate in the research process. They will
take written notes individually and then share with their group, compiling what they have gained
from the provided resources, and begin formulating arguments for their end project. Based on
what they find and read, the students should begin constructing their video for their video
presentation. The instructor should check in with each group regularly throughout the research
process to make sure that students are on-task and will be ready to present when the time
comes. Student should be keeping track of resources and citations during the research process
that they can use during their final video presentation.
Create Video for Final Presentation: At this point, the students should develop their script to the
interview and record any necessary video or audio they’ll need, putting their research into their
video as the subject material of the interview. The students will show evidence that they
understand the inner workings of the Cultural Revolution, its societal significance, and the role
their political figure played they in the interview itself. The students will have two 50 minute class
periods to create and edit this video, but if they need more time than that, it is up to them to film
at home, or if needed, arrange before or after school time to film in the classroom.
Lesson Ending:
Historical Interview Activity: Students will either upload their video to an online cloud storage
site or keep it on a physical drive, and the groups will pull up and play their interview for the
class.. Each group will have ten minutes to show their 4-6 minute interview and questions and
comments from the audience. All student in the class will be required to participate and ask at
least one question over the course of all the presentations.
After all interviews have been viewed (about 35 minutes in total, broken up over two class
periods), there will be a class discussion.
Assessment Rubric:
Exemplary (5 points) Satisfactory (3 Unsatisfactory (1
points) point)
Basic Video satisfies time Video satisfies time Video does not satisfy
Conventions of requirement (4-6 minutes) requirement and has time requirement and
Video and is of high visual and average visual and has relatively poor
audio quality. audio quality. visual and audio
quality.
Research Notes Notes are thorough, with Notes are take, Notes are minimal or
obvious effort put into though some not present.
diligently viewing the important facts and Arguments are
resources. Arguments are events are left out. presented, but not
presented and supported Arguments are supported by fact, or
with facts that logically presented, but may not present at all.
relate, and are sufficiently be supported by facts
expanded upon. that do not logically
relate, or are not
expanded upon to the
full extent.
Use of The digital presentation is The digital The digital
technology to 4-6 minutes long. The presentation is presentation is less
create actors stay on script and between 3 and 4 than 3 minutes and/or
presentation there are 3 or fewer minutes, and/or there there are more than 5
mistakes. are more than 4 mistakes and actors
mistakes, but actors deviate from the
generally stay on script more than half
script. the time.
Portrayal of Interview shows clear and Interview shows clear Interview shows Commented [1]: How will you assess in depth
understanding or clear understanding? differentiation is
historical in-depth understanding of understanding of the moderate to little the whole point of using rubric. So please find another
perspective the Cultural Revolution, Cultural Revolution, understanding of the way assessing their understanding. For example,
Mao Zedong’s role in it, the interviewed Cultural Revolution students will talk about 5 elements at least including
the interviewed party’s party’s role in it, and and any people year, definition, causes of this period and so on. In the
satisfactory level, they have 3 of these 5 elements. I
hope it is much clear now.
role, and the thoughts the thoughts and involved with it,
and reaction of the reaction of the regardless of
working class AND youth working class OR interviewed party or
populations. It conveys youth during this other factions in the
the student’s main event. It somewhat event. The
arguments about Mao conveys the student’s presentation does not
Zedong’s rhetoric and arguments, but the convey the student’s
ideals, and how it argument is under argument or the
persuaded citizens. The supported/supported argument is not
argument includes valid with unrelated facts supported or
support and explanation. and explanation. explained at all.
uring the event.
Group The student cooperated For the most part, the The student did not
Collaboration and collaborated with student cooperated cooperate or
group members without and collaborated with collaborate with
conflict, with each putting group members, but group members, with
in equal work, some members did some members not
exemplified by equal not equally participating at all.
speaking roles in the contribute,
video or authorship of the exemplified by certain
script. members dominating
the video or script.
Resources / Artifacts:
● List of major political figures- Miah
[Link]
qYRWyu6nEllmNdx4YFckaeGSyiMQ/edit?usp=sharing
● Adobe Spark informational presentation- Miah
[Link]
● Informational website [Link]
● [Link]
● Content presentation/ informational video:
[Link]
● General Cultural Revolution Timeline- Garret
[Link]
● Rise of Mao Zedong- Lyndon
[Link]
fR17CPvj1Ch3KzbsqK50TD7hhFUX9k/edit#slide=id.p3
Differentiation:
1. Differentiation for ability levels
● High ability learners and Low ability learners: High and low ability learners will be
intermixed between the groups so both work with and learn from each other in their own
respective ways. This way both will work together to advance their technical skills (video
portion) and explore and expand their historical knowledge to get a wholesome learning
experience about the Cultural Revolution
2. Differentiation for demographics
● Gender, race, culture, and sexual identity
● Students will be in diverse groups, but not intentionally arranged on the basis of gender,
race, culture, or sexual identity, solely academic ability. See high/low ability learners
above.
3. Differentiation for languages
● ESL, EFL, ENL
● Students that are learning English will be paired/grouped with students who have high
advanced English language skills, who can help them through the project
4. Differentiation for access & resources
● Computers, Internet connection, and Wifi
● Students will be given class time to research and record, so access to Wifi at home should
not be an issue, but if class time does not offer enough time for completion, students who
need it may use classroom resources before or after school
Anticipated Difficulties:
● Conducting research is a difficult process and for these 9th- 10th grade students, it may
be the first time any of them will face such a challenge at an advanced level. The
instructor should make sure to be actively moving throughout the room, providing support
and guidance to the students while they work.
● Students may find it difficult to work together, especially on a universally unknown topic
to them. Students should keep an open mind and try to establish organization in their
work.
● Some students may find it difficult to research without proper devices and may have to
pull information from a limited number of books. Students should share their devices or
research after school.
References:
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